The National Power Corp. (NPC) is ramping up fuel storage capacity across its off-grid power facilities to secure energy supply and cut high delivery costs in remote communities nationwide.
Through its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG), NPC is rolling out expanded storage infrastructure as a key buffer against fuel price swings and logistical disruptions—including typhoons and rough seas—that often leave island communities vulnerable.
“In some remote areas, hauling alone can add P20 per liter or more. And when there are typhoons, rough seas or logistical issues, the question is not just how expensive diesel is,” said NPC president Jericho Jonas Nograles. “Our own engineers and skilled workers are now building and installing fuel storage tanks so we can boost storage capacity.”
Nograles noted that transport and logistical hurdles are often a less visible but critical cause of supply disruptions, separate from fuel price volatility. By keeping fuel stocks closer to power plants, SPUG targets a total of 6.16 million liters in additional fuel oil storage capacity by 2029. This would extend available fuel reserves by up to 11 days, based on current daily consumption of 540,629 liters.
Of 39 priority power plants identified, 25 are set to gain an extra 1.4 million liters of capacity by 2029 through new Fuel Oil Storage Tanks (FOST). In-house fabrication and installation is already underway at 10 facilities, which will add 140,000 liters upon completion in 2028.
SPUG has also recently added roughly 4.6 million liters of storage by restoring decommissioned tanks and turning them into strategic regional fuel hubs.
“The concept is simple: store more fuel closer to where it will be used, make fewer vulnerable deliveries, and give our islands more days of energy security,” Nograles explained. “When we do that, we will significantly cut hauling costs—and lower the costs passed on to consumers.”
NPC currently oversees 258 SPUG power plants serving 221 off-grid areas across the country. These facilities mainly use diesel generators to power island and remote communities not connected to the main national transmission grid.
